Santiniketan Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List

Santiniketan is located near the town of Bolpur, in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. It is known worldwide for its university called the Visva Bharati. The university was established in 1921 by the Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore. On September 17, 2023, Tagore’s world university was added to the Unesco World Heritage list. Santiniketan became India’s 41st Unesco World Heritage Site, and the 5th in Bengal. 

The first attempt to include Santiniketan in the World Heritage Sites list was made by the Indian government in 2010. In 2021, a second attempt was made by the Archaeological Survey of India with the help of the Visva Bharati authorities. Finally, in 2023, the campaign reached its goal. 

Santiniketan was originally just an empty plot of land bought by Debendranath Tagore, the father of Rabindranath Tagore, in 1863. The former built a guest house there, which he named Shantiniketan, meaning “abode of peace” in Sanskrit. Rabindranath Tagore was 17 years old when he first visited Santiniketan. In 1901, at the age of 40, Tagore built a Brahmacharyaashrama there called Patha Bhavana. In 1921, he started Visva Bharati, a central university dedicated to literature, music, painting and art. Today, the university holds national importance.